I was dumbfounded by the Emperor’s words.
‘Help Fritz?’
Hearing his praise, I had thought my father was finally acknowledging me.
After all, unlike the empress, the emperor had taken care of me and shown some concern.
But that was my foolish delusion.
‘In the end, you’re just after what I had gathered. You too.’
Feeling a sense of emptiness and despair, I let out a hollow laugh before clenching my fists tightly.
‘Yes, thinking back, I was foolish. I’ve never been welcomed by you since the day I was born.’
In the past, when I was studying the art of ruling and encountered something I didn’t understand, I had asked my father.
<Father, what does this mean?>
And his reaction was… anger.
<How dare a girl who will become an outsider covet what belongs to your brother!>
Simply because I, a mere girl, had learned something my brother needed to learn, he ordered me to be confined and to fast at the age of ten.
‘I acted foolishly again. The emperor couldn’t possibly have any real affection for me…’
That man was never someone who would give generous praise to a useless woman.
He had simply given me a carrot to make me listen to him, as I was useful for his purposes.
‘Perhaps the reason he kept watch over me for several years was to keep an eye on me. Using Demian as a hostage to keep Duke Blant in check at any time.’
My father, who gave me no affection, only saw me as a tool.
Yet he was a man who hid his weaknesses, just like me.
I gazed at the emperor for a moment before speaking.
“Your Majesty, how can I assist you?”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
He was worried that he would be rejected.
However, the emperor smiled with relief at his daughter’s willing question.
‘Thank goodness. This child is complying with my request so willingly.’
The Emperor then began to speak.
“The high nobles need bait to support Fritz. So…”
“You need the mines I own, right? If we share the stakes and distribute the mine profits, it would be tempting enough for the high nobles.”
At that, his expression changed, and he smiled coldly.
“Yes, if you already guessed that, it makes things easier.”
With the start of trade with the Eastern Continent, new powers emerged.
And while the high nobles desperately tried to suppress them, they were struggling because of their long-held disdain for commerce and industry.
In this situation, Cornelia’s mines and enormous wealth would be a great help.
‘Yes, this child will understand. She is my blood, after all.’
If Fritz becomes Emperor, what he leaves behind will be safe.
Of all of them, his family was the most on his mind.
‘Yes, even if Fritz is a reckless fool, he wouldn’t turn his back on his mother and sister.’
Something inside him was nagging at him, but the Emperor ignored it and continued speaking.
“If Fritz becomes Emperor, he will guarantee your safety. So, if you hand over the mines… Khek!”
The Emperor, who had been clearing his throat, suddenly couldn’t continue and let out a harsh cough.
“Cough, cough, cough! Kheh!”
After coughing violently, the Emperor clenched his fist.
‘Damn it to show such a weak side!’
The Emperor felt immense shame at displaying such a state in front of his own child.
‘It would be best to get to the point quickly.’
As the Emperor prepared to speak,
“I can’t give you the mine.”
Surprised by those words, the emperor looked at Cornelia, who was staring at him with cold eyes.
“If Fritz becomes Emperor, he will ruin the Empire.”
At that, the emperor widened his eyes and immediately shouted at his daughter.
“You, you! How dare you say such nonsense… Cough, keh!”
Because his emotions were running high, he couldn’t breathe properly and coughed while bending over.
As the Emperor’s coughing subsided, Cornelia spoke softly.
“Of course, the high nobles will support Fritz if I hand over the mine. But will that support last forever?”
“Are you saying my thoughts are wrong?”
Frowning, the emperor glared at his daughter, and Cornelia replied in a firm voice.
“You know as well, Your Majesty. Even if Fritz is temporarily placed on the throne, he won’t be able to handle the future.”
At those words, the emperor was enraged.
“You, how dare you insult me… Cough, cough!”
As Cornelia watched the emperor, unable to express his anger properly, she approached him.
Then, patting his back, she said,
“Will Fritz really protect me if he becomes emperor? He doesn’t even treat me like a sister.”
“Cough, cough!”
Watching the Emperor continue to cough without being able to respond, Cornelia spoke softly.
“I was worried.”
At the sound of her small but clear voice, the emperor opened his eyes wide.
He could see the princess looking at him with her violet eyes.
“To me, Your Majesty has always been like a steadfast mountain. You can’t imagine how surprised and worried I was when I heard you were so sick.”
At those words, the emperor grunted and clenched his fists tightly.
‘Worried…’
On the day the Emperor collapsed, the empress and Fritz had come to see him.
But…
<Your Majesty, you must get up! Isn’t Fritz’s position still precarious?>
<That’s right, Father! If you’re going to leave us, at least make sure the nobles are on my side!>
The Emperor realized that his wife, whom he loved and had given the highest position to, and his son, whom he thought of as his own flesh and blood, were only concerned about their own well-being.
Yet…
“I prayed for your safety the entire time I was on my way here, Father. But when I finally saw you, my heart sank. Your face looks so worn.”
Genuine concern was coming from the daughter, whom he had considered an outsider and a mere tool.
‘How disheartening.’
It was at that moment that the emperor let out a hollow laugh.
“Still, seeing you ask about my well-being gave me some hope. I suppose I also had some expectations. I felt like I had finally been acknowledged by you.”
Acknowledgment—honestly, it had been something she longed for many times.
If Cornelia had been a son instead of a daughter, she could have pushed through as the next Emperor without facing any opposition.
‘But it can’t be helped. That child cannot become Emperor.’
In the empire, there has never been a woman who ascended to the throne. Moreover, Cornelia was still the wife of Duke Blant.
‘In the end, she is still an outsider.’
His father, grandfather, and all previous emperors had used their daughters as tools, abandoning them once they were no longer useful.
Thus, the emperor intended to tell Cornelia to stop and step back.
“Princess, it’s time to…”
However, the moment he saw his daughter’s distorted face, he fell silent.
Cornelia spoke to him.
“I was foolish. I thought you would consider my feelings, but it seems that all you care about is the Empire and Fritz.”
Tears welled up in her violet eyes.
“For a long time, you’ve never been a father to me… I had foolish hopes.”
Seeing her wounded, childlike face, the Emperor felt a painful ache in his chest.
“Princess, I…”
The emperor tried to say something, believing that it would ease the sharp pain in his heart.
He attempted to make excuses for the first time, something he had never done in his exalted position.
But Cornelia, as if she no longer wanted to hear any words, put on her hat and spoke.
“I have conveyed my intentions, so I will take my leave. As a final piece of advice, please ensure that nothing new has been brought in recently. Also, always keep the guards nearby and strengthen the defenses.”
With that, Cornelia bowed her head to the emperor.
“Then, take care of your health.”
After finishing her words, Cornelia turned her back and left the office.
The Emperor silently watched Cornelis’s back, and then his expression turned hollow.
‘Surely, I am not mistaken…’
He had never doubted his decisions or regretted them. He always believed he had made rational choices for the Empire.
Strangely, doubts and regret were now plaguing him.
‘What if I was wrong…’
At that moment, a chamberlain entered.
“Your Majesty, I have news to report.”
“What is it?”
“Marquis Arzen is currently staging a protest at the main entrance. He claims that the princess is alive and that her identity is Countess Herde!”
At those words, the emperor’s eyes widened.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
As I left the emperor’s office, I wore a bitter smile.
‘I’ve said everything I needed to say, so the Emperor must have completely lost any affection for me by now.’
With a sigh, I began to walk away.
‘I should never come back here again.’
As I walked down the hallway, I collided with a servant carrying a lot of candles coming out of a room.
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
‘What kind of servant is so careless?’
For a moment, I frowned, but upon seeing the candles scattered on the floor, my expression hardened.
‘No seal?’
All items supplied to the royal family bear the seal of the royal artisan, but these candles did not.
“Where did you get this from?”
At my question, the servant responded with an untroubled expression.
“Yes? Why do you ask, Milady? The royal supplies are strictly under the jurisdiction of our palace.”
Foolishly, he didn’t realize his mistake and instead questioned me defiantly.
“Answer me. Unless you want your head to roll.”
As I warned the servant with a menacing tone, I heard a familiar voice.
“Wow, that’s intense.”
Hearing that familiar voice, I clenched my fist and glared at him.
‘Fritz.’
My reckless younger brother was grinning at me in a disgusting way.
Fritz then addressed the servant.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you going out?”
TL/N: Goodness! My heart hurts for Cornelia.
